CELEBRATING NEW YEAR’S 2012 IN ADDIS ABABA

                                                                         A view of Addis from the Sheraton Hotel

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (Posted 16 September)

Taking a trip to Ethiopia is literally like time travelling back into an era one never knew existed before boarding an Ethiopian Airline 737 and in less than two hours be landing in Addis Ababa’s new Bole Airport.

Unlike some local airlines, Ethiopian flights tend to be punctual, as was mine. We left precisely at 5:40pm and landed exactly at 7:30pm. But after that, my sense of time went haywire. That’s because I’d landed in Addis on ‘New Year’s Eve’, local time. 2011 was just ending and at midnight, the new year would arrive. Signs celebrating 2012 were everywhere, but no one could explain why exactly we were now living seven years behind where I had been just a few hours before.

Apparently, the Ethiopian calendar is based on the ancient Coptic calendar wherein one year is 365 days plus six hours, two minutes and 24 seconds longer than the Gregorian calendar that I’ve always known.

                                                                  Part of the new African Union structures

I normally adapt easily to ‘jet lag’ but in the Ethiopian case, I felt suspended in time, even as I see a country experiencing a radical transformation, leap-frogging into the future. One sees a myriad of rusty mabati shacks standing side by side massive skyscrapers under construction. But the city seems to lack a central town plan such that tall structures are sprouting up all over the place.

September 14^th being New Year’s Day, everything was closed around Addis apart from the churches. Even most restaurants, shops and the National Museum of Ethiopia were closed. And since Addis has nothing like a Garden City Mall, leave alone a Sarit Centre or a Two Rivers, the only place open for business were hotels like the luxurious 5-Star Sheraton Addis.

                                                              The front entrance of the vast Sheraton Addis Hotel

Situated on almost 50 hectares of land, the Sheraton is palatial with massive gardens, fountains, 8000 plus apartments, playgrounds, health facilities, pools and other sundry services. Thus, it was no surprise to hear it had been built in between two actual palaces, the National Palace which is the residence of the President of Ethiopia and the Menelik Palace, residence of the country’s Prime Minister.

We could have spent the day exploring the massive, beautifully manicured gardens, walkways and playgrounds, but we discovered that one small Zoma Museum was open.

Designed and built by one of the country’s most original and environmentally-conscious artists, Elias Sime, the Museum’s structures are all made out of straw, mud and sand. But the outside of the buildings was more interesting that the spaces within since Sime had sculpted swirls and shapely drawings on every outer wall. It looked rather like a child’s finger painting only every swirl and curve was deeply etched into each ochre-colored wall.

“The theme of the walls is the life cycle of the caterpillar,” said our guide, who we paid 100 birrs for a short talk and long walk around the lush green carefully planted grounds. (Approximately KSh3.55 =1 Ethiopian birr.) “Here on this wall, you will see the egg and the larva. Then there’s the chrysalis and finally the butterfly,” he said pointing from one wall to the next. Then atop one border wall were big stone vessels which were each crowned with a different colored butterfly.

                                                  Ethiopian music, dance and delicious food at the Cultural Restaurant

My stay in Addis was brief but the finest moment of the trip came the following day. We were invited to the home of my friend’s mother who had prepared authentic Ethiopian food for us. Her home was humble. It was mainly mabati sheets mixed with cement walls inside. There was a large flat-screened TV and two small sofas for us to be seated and extra stools for the mother’s other guests to sit. It was a squeeze, but who cared! Her food was first-class and it was clear, she and her family must have spent their New Year’s preparing amazing foods for her son’s guests. The injera (spongy baked bread) was delicious, and meant to be used like chapati, to scoop up all the yummy meats, vegetables and sauces that she had prepared especially for us.

                                                                 Art at the St. George's Gallery, Addis

Then, by the time our tummys’ were stuffed, the mama’s last-born girl began roasting coffee beans, signaling the first part of the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Thereafter. the mom got out the mortar and pestle and began grinding the coffee beans until they were just the right texture to now place in the water which had already boiled. Leaving it to steep for several minutes, we finally topped off our marvelous meal with miniature cups of authentic Ethiopian coffee.